There are few things so disheartening as seeing our phone battery almost dead when we are miles from the nearest charger or socket outlet. Modern batteries last much longer than they used to, but some apps use more power than others, and we are all guilty of forgetting to recharge sometimes.
Games are among the most common culprits here. That’s hardly surprising, gaming is the most commonly downloaded category of app on Android and iOS, accounting for more downloads than the second and third most popular put together. All of us enjoy playing a game once in a while to idle away the time or perhaps allow our brains a few minutes’ break during a busy day.
iGaming takes its toll as much as other games
There is a common misconception that it is only the eSport-type games, the first person shooters and so on, that are a real drain on a phone battery. Sure, games like that can sap the power, but they do not have a monopoly. There is a popular Sudoku game that looks as if it could have been developed in the 1980s, yet you can almost see the battery indicator go down before your eyes when you play it. But the gaming niche we really need to discuss here is iGaming.
Playing online casino games seems as innocuous as sudoku. Blackjack, roulette, even slot games appear quite rudimentary by general 2020s gaming standards. Yet this is the niche that catches so many players out. It could be because many are new to gaming – participation in iGaming in Australia, for example, increased by 50 percent between 2020 and 2021, and most of these new visitors were aged 50 plus – not your typical mobile gamers. If your preferred type of gaming involves is scouring Australia’s casino sites for the best online pokies and you’re fed up with constantly running your battery to the line just as the pokies are about to pay out or the roulette wheel is starting to go your way, the following tips will be particularly handy.
Experiment with battery saver mode
This tip can have a massive impact on your power usage, and seems like a one-stop solution. And it might be. The potential issue with battery-saver mode is that it powers different things either off or down depending on the type of phone you have. For example, if you use an iPhone, battery saver kills the background data and a handful of visual effects, but essentially still provides a good user experience.
On Android phones, it really depends on what you have. Trial and error is the only strategy here. If battery saver mode still delivers the same quality gameplay, then go with it. If not, we will have to do things manually.
Turn down the lights
A real casino might be all about bright neon lights but honestly, there is no need to try to replicate the Las Vegas experience to that extent when you play online from your phone. Lower brightness means reduced battery use, it is that simple, and it applies whatever type of game you play, so this is a tip that every gamer can follow. Also, remember to switch off the auto brightness setting, or you will get into one of those unwinnable arguments where technology thinks it knows better than you do! Note that Androids have a brightness widget you can pin to the home screen to save you diving headlong into the settings all the time.
Clear out your unused apps
Whether you play casino games, adventure games, sport games or no games at all, this is still a tip you need to follow. The average phone has 80 apps on it, but 50 of them don’t get used from one month to the next.
Even when apps are closed, they still perform background actions, either performing routine updates or pondering their neglected and un-appy existence. Put the poor things out of their misery by uninstalling them completely. Your phone will run better, as well as more economically, so you can forgive us the terrible pun.
Keyboard sounds and vibrations
Granted, for some games, those alerts can provide a vital warning during gameplay. But when you’re playing a mobile casino game, or perhaps a game of Words with Friends, you don’t need the phone to vibrate to tell you when you’ve triggered the bonus game or scored a seven-letter word. By itself, it is a small thing, but when taken in combination with the other recommendations, it can all add up.
